


A Visit to Sickbay

by captainraz



Series: Raising Charles Tucker IV [2]
Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-01
Updated: 2014-06-01
Packaged: 2018-02-03 00:39:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1724798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainraz/pseuds/captainraz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Malcolm rushes to sickbay when he hears Charlie was injured during a firefight with another vessel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Visit to Sickbay

Malcolm's heart thudded against his ribs as he ran down the corridors. Various crewmen gave him odd looks as he raced passed them, but he didn't care. He was still running on adrenaline from their latest encounter with a hostile species. It was times like this when he almost regretted the decision to raise a family on board ship. It didn't matter that 85% of space exploration was watching the stars go by at warp speed and examining rock samples from uninhabited planets. When trouble came and some alien species decided to take potshots at the Enterprise, Malcolm seriously considered trading it all in for a quiet life on Earth.

 

It didn't help that as tactical officer he had to be on the bridge and be calm and professional during a crisis like this. He had to stay at his post and do his job despite wanting to be anywhere on the bridge. He needed to stay put even when he wanted nothing more than to be with Trip and Charlie, holding them both tight. No, when they were in a tactical situation against another ship the safety of almost everyone on board rested squarely on his shoulders. So he fought down the fear he felt for his family and got on with the job no matter what. He had to, otherwise they'd all end up floating in space.

 

But nothing could stop him when the casualty reports came in and Charlie's name was on the list. Hence Malcolm was pelting towards sickbay as fast as his aching legs would allow. He skidded through the infirmary doors to find that Trip had beaten him there. Malcolm drank in the sight of his husband sat on a biobed holding Charlie while the boy played with one of Phlox's tribbles.

 

"Is he alright?" asked Malcolm frantically.

 

"Oh he's perfectly fine, Lieutenant," answered the doctor. "Charlie just had a little collision with a bulkhead when the inertial dampers had that little hiccup."

 

Mal breathed a sigh of relief as he went over to the bed.

 

"How are you feeling Charlie," said Malcolm softly to his son.

 

"My head hurted, but doctor Phlox made it all better," said the boy cheerfully.

 

Mal pulled Charlie into his arms and squeezed him tight before turning to Trip. The two men exchanged a look and and instantly Malcolm knew his husband was feeling the same mixture of anxiety and relief as he was.

 

"What about you, Trip. Are you alright?" Mal asked.

 

"I'm okay," replied Trip. "Nothin' exploded too badly down in engineering. Coupla plasma relays to replace but nothing's more important'n this," he said, gesturing to their son, who was absolutely entranced by the furry bundle in his arms.

 

"Were you scared Charlie?" said Malcolm. Charlie shook his head.

 

"Nu uh," said the boy. "My head hurt but I wasn' scared. I knew daddy was there to make the bad people stop hurting us."

 

"Hey, what about me?" said Trip with mock indignance. Charlie giggled.

 

"Papa make the engines fast so we can run away."

 

Just then the com sounded. "Bridge to sickbay," came Archer's disembodied voice.

 

"Phlox here."

 

"How's our youngest crewmember doing?" asked the captain.

 

"Much better for a little attention from his parents," replied Phlox.

 

"Good," said Archer. "Any chance I can get my chief engineer and tactical officer back soon?"

 

Phlox looked at Mal and Trip, who both nodded. "Give them ten more minutes captain, I'll make sure they're back on duty after that."

 

"Tell them I'm sorry to pull them away from Charlie, but we've got a lot to do up here. Archer out."

 

Phlox glanced over and Mal nodded to indicated he'd heard what the captain had said. He cuddled his son close to his chest enjoying the way his small body shook with excitement as he played with the tribble. Some time later Phlox cleared his throat, and Malcolm knew their ten minutes were over. Reluctantly he pulled away.

 

"Papa and I have to get back to work now, Charlie. Well see you later." Charlie nodded solemnly and Trip leant down to kiss the top of his head. Mal took his husband's hand and pulled him away before turning to the doctor. "You okay to keep an eye on him for a while?"

 

"That's not a problem Lieutenant," said Phlox. "He'll be perfectly fine. Charlie can stay here until Commander Tucker and yourself get off duty."

 

The two Starfleet officers left sickbay and headed to the turbolift, still hand in hand. As they were waiting for the lift to arrive, Trip turned to Malcolm.

 

"Hey Mal, d'ya think we're doin' the right thing? Raising Charlie out here."

 

Malcolm sighed, uncertain.

 

"I hope so Trip. I really hope so."

 

Mal pulled Trip close and held on tight, trying to comfort the engineer despite his own misgivings. This was a conversation for another time, when there weren't so many people depending on them. For now, it was enough that they had each other.


End file.
